Carburetor attachment



May 23, 1961 F. JACOBUS 2,985,524

CARBURETOR ATTACHMENT Filed July 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. FL 0V0 JACOEUS 6w did a7 AT TOR/VEVS May 23, 19.61 F. JACOBUS 2,985,524

CARBURETOR ATTACHMENT Filed July 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. F L 070 JACOBUS 22720; if/M ATTORNEYS United tates Patent CARBURETOR ATTACHMENT Floyd Jacobus, 5941 Sampson Blvd., Sacramento, Calif. Filed July 11, 1958, Ser. No. 747,949

1 Claim. (Cl. 48-180) The invention relates to carburetors for internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to attachments for improving carburetor performance.

It is an object of the invention to provide a carburetor attachment which results in a saving of fuel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a carburetor attachment which effects a more complete and homogenous air-fuel mixture.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an attachment which is susceptible of use both with old and new carburetor installations.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a carburetor attachment which is relatively economical and which has but few moving parts to get out of order, and which is therefore durable and long-lived.

It is another object of the invention to provide a generally improved carburetor attachment.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following description and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the attachment, a portion of the device being shown in section to illustrate the structure of one of the auxiliary air valve members;

Figure 2 is an elevation, the lower portion of a carburetor barel being shown in outline;

Figure 3 is a section, the plane of section being indicated by the line 3-3 in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a median vertical section of the attachment connected to the lower portion of a typical carburetor barrel, the throttle valve of the carburetor not being shown in order to simplify the figure; and

Figure 5 is a perspective of a fuel nozzle forming a part of the attachment of the invention.

While being susceptible of numerous physical embodiments depending on the environment and requirements of use, substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiment have been made and used and have performed in an eminently satisfactory manner.

The device of the invention, generally designated by the numeral '11, while susceptible of being formed integrally with the barrel 12 of a carburetor 13 of conventional make is, in the embodiment shown and described herein, appropriately secured to the flanges 14 on the lower end of the carburetor barrel, as by fastenings 16. In turn the attachment 11 is affixed, in any suitable manher, to the intake manifold (not shown).

The major components of the attachment include a collar 21 having a substantially uniform cylindrical interior bore 22 and a sleeve 23 having an interior bore 24 which diverges or expands in a downward direction. For convenience of manufacture the collar 21 and the sleeve 23 can be separately made, in which event a gasket 26 is interposed between the two members.

Cooperating functionally with the collar and sleeve and their attendant structure, although physically separated therefrom, is a nozzle 31 appropriately dimensioned ice to replace the nozzle encountered in most carburetors of conventional make and which discharges into the customary vertical Venturi or comparable tube 32 centrally located in the carburetor barrel.

The nozzle 31 includes a base 33 having a close fit in the customary cylindrical nozzle bore in the carburetor casting. A recess 34 in the base receives fuel from the carburetor reservoir, the fuel passing forwardly and outwardly through a plurality of passageways 36 and discharging into a corresponding plurality of channels 37 helically formed on the exterior of a nozzle body 38. As the fuel proceeds along the helical channels 37, being substantially confined therein by the encompassing walls of the carburetor casting, the fuel mass acquires a transverse component of motion. Fuel which moves along in the channels 37 discharges inwardly through a plurality of ports 40 located in the channels and passes into an interior bore 39 in the nozzle, the bore continuing through and past an annular collar member 41 and through a stem portion 42 of reduced diameter, the bore 39 being open at the end 43. The encompassing wall of the carburetor casting is in snug fit not only with the base 33 but also with the collar portion 41. The encompassing casting wall is spaced from the exterior of the body 38, however, by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the collar band 41. Consequently, a film or sheet of fuel moves forwardly over the outer surface of the body 38 and this quantity of fuel, which does not at this time acquire the helical motion of the fuel passing along in the channels 37, discharges through a plurality of ports 46 into the longitudinal bore 39 and moves along and mingles with the fuel from the channels 37 which has assumed a swirling motion. Both streams move toward the end 43 of the stem 42 and the combined flow is swirling or helical in pattern.

Instead of discharging through the end opening 43, however, the fuel passes downwardly through a pair of ports 48 formed in the hollow stem wall. Preferably the ports 48 are not diametrically disposed but are each displaced downwardly toward the bottom of the stem. Thus, as the air, which is moving rapidly downwardly through the tube 32, blows through the end opening 43, the air being scooped in, as it were, by the projecting lip 49 of the stem end, the air forces the fuel downwardly through the ports 48 and into the air stream. Since the fuel is previously in a swirling condition, the sudden blast of air forcing the fuel to change direction and to discharge from the ports 48 results in a highly effective dispersion or atomization of the fuel.

The dispersed fuel then moves downwardly in a pattern substantially concentric with the vertical axis 51 of the carburetor, the collar and the sleeve.

Helping generally to center the air-fuel mixture flow but serving to disperse it somewhat in a lateral direction is a pair of shutters 53, each being substantially semicircular in outline and in touching relation, in closed position, along a common or inner edge 54, or margin.

Each of the shutters is mounted, as by fasteuings 56, to a shaft 57 suitably journalled in the walls of the collar 21. The shafts 57 are in parallel relation and at one end are provided with a pair of meshing gears 58. Consequently, as one of the shafts is rotated in a predetermined direction and amount, as by a lever 59 suitably linked to the conventional throttle lever (not shown) of the carburetor, the other shaft rotates through the same are in the opposite direction.

A pair of projecting lips 61 limit and support the outer margins of the shutters in closed position of the shutters and serve, as well, to deflect inwardly any fuel-air mixture impinging on the lips in open position of the shutters.

Mechanism is also provided for adding air to the mixture passing the shutters when the shutters are in their open or partially open. attitude, as is customary in normal driving, and when the pressure within the attachment falls below a predetermined value. Diamertically disposed on opposite sides of the collar is a pair of auxiliary air valves 66 including a hollow threadedstem 67 projecting interiorly somewhat into the collar bore and forming an annular lip 68 which preferably is fish-tailed to some extent as by a horizontal diametral cut 69 in the lip 68 at right angles to the stern axis. The horizontal cut 69 in the stern lips permits the air emerging from each of the stems to spread in a lateral or fan-shaped manner. Air enters the stem through a central passageway 70in a valve body 71 having mounted thereon a cap 72 with a central opening 73 covered in closed positions by a ball 74 urged against its seat by a spring 76. When the outside air pressure exceedsthe inside air pressure by a predetermined amount the ball unseats, the air bleeds in and disperses in a fan-shaped pattern from the valve stem lips 68.

The air-fuel mixture passing down through the shutters is thoroughly intermixed with the entering auxiliary or mixture-leaning air owing to the provision of a plurality of swirl vanes 81, the vanes originating at their upper ends in a plurality of vertical walls 82 and progressing downwardly in a substantially helical manner, forcing the air and the now well-dispersed fuel into a rather violent swirling flow. The lips 68 of the stern are preferablylocated so that as the auxiliary air streams fan out they are substantially symmetrically located on each side of and above any two of the vane walls 82; thus, approximately equal portions of the auxiliary air issuing from each of the stems 67 flow into each of the underlying vane channels. 7

Upon emerging from the bottom of the vanes, the swirling mixture of fuel particles and air are even more thoroughly intermingled since the diverging bore 24 permits the mixture to expand. Additional fuel evaporation and more complete surrounding of fuel by air molecules is thereby effected. Consequently, when the mixture emerges from the bottom of the sleeve 23 and enters the intake manifold a highly homogeneous and thoroughly intermingled and dispersed fuel air mixture is obtained. The result is' more elficient combustion which, when taken in conjunction with the somewhat leaner mixture provided during certain normal operating conditions, leads to substantially increased fuel mileage and smoother engine performance.

What is claimed is:

cylindrical collar mounted below a carburetor barrel, said collar defining a central vertical chamber adapted to receive and conduct downwardly the fuel and air mixture from said carburetor; a plurality of fixed swirl vanes mounted within and extending" across said chamber, said vanes including a pair of vertical diametrical members each disposed at right angles to the other so as to form an X-shape in horizontal section, the bottoms of'said swirl vanes being curved into a substantially helical configuration and extending downwardly below the bottom of said collar; a pair of spring-urged air inlet ball check valves extending from the atmosphere on the outside of said collar inwardly to said chamber, said check valves being formed on opposite sides of said collar and aligned on a diameter of said collar substantially coincident with the alignment of one of, said pair of swirl vanes whereby the air entering said chamber from each of said valves is disposed immediately above the adjacent peripheral portion of one of said swirl vanes and whereby the air is thereby substantially equally divided between the channels defined by said swirl vanes; and a sleeve mount: ed below said collar,'said sleeve having an interior vertical and downwardly diverging bore, said sleeve bore encompassing said helically configured portion of said swirl vanes whereby the air-fuel mixture emerging from said vanes is expanded as said air-fuel mix-ture passes through said sleeve. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 998,355 Lee July 18, 1911 1,607,830 Kessel Nov. 23, 1926 2,078,481 Chanavier Apr. 27, 1937 2,134,667 Leibing Oct. 25, 1938 2,163,139 Brandon June 20, 1939 2,207,152 7 Huber July 9, 1940 2,273,979 Mock Feb. 24, 1942 2,580,902 Eriskin Jan. 1, 1952 2,589,559 Lebeda Mar. 18, 1952 2,714,503 Heisler Aug. 2, 1955 2,821,373 Olson Jan, 28, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland un; 5.; July 16, 1925 

